BarBeeQ was created as a prototype in 48 hrs at the Vive Jam 2015 in Vancouver. This is a virtual reality experience where you flip burgers in an idyllic stylized suburban backyard. Giant wasps fly at your head and steal your bounty as you do your best to satiate legions of hungry kids. This simple task builds up layers of complexity until it becomes a frantic ballet of resource management and coordination.

This project was designed specifically for the Vive VR system using design principles for experiential play. The design strategy behind the game is to build up simple layers of gameplay that are in themselves fun to experience in VR. Any one of the game mechanics on their own (bugs, burgers, kids, etc) is fun to perform and adds to immersion. By layering them together the experience slowly becomes more hectic and engrossing. The gameplay area is limited to walking around the porch.

User response to the prototype was really great. Players were doing hilarious and unexpected things like picking burgers off the floor, throwing them to the kids in the yard and even juggling them! These are all elements that we would like to expand upon and reward in the full game.

Seance: The Other Side

Seance:TOS is a game design for VR that is currently looking for funding. The design was fully fleshed out in 2015 and submitted to the Canada Media Fund where it received a score of 82. Unfortunately the cutoff for funding was an 83 due to the large volume of submissions.

The game is a multiplayer online paranormal experience where a group of players work cooperatively to solve an otherworldly mystery using unique psychic powers. The game uses real-time voice chat to allow the players to discuss strategies and analyze results of their investigations. Gameplay takes place primarily around the seance table with short astral travels to locations in time and space.

Key features:

Players can communicate with spirits in the room through limited means

Players communicate with each other through real-time voice chat.

Players must work together to leverage their unique abilities. Abilities are based on psychic skills such as clairaudience, clairvoyance, psychokinesis, etc. These skills can also be enhanced through special artifacts.

Players astral travel to different locations in time and space. These are small discrete areas that must be explored before the gate closes. Players gather artifacts that are then examined upon their return.

Players can explore the astral locations more deeply but risk being trapped in the spirit world.

Artifacts are stored in a joint memory palace, a visual construct that allows to the players to access their library of clues.

Room – A Game for Smartphone VR

A series of rooms where players need to literally look around and use their head to solve simple puzzles and avoid a fiery end.

Room is a short experimental game designed for mobile virtual reality (Eg. Durovis Dive, Google Cardboard). The game uses a simple gaze mechanic as a means to solve a series of interactive puzzles. Each room presents slightly different puzzle that builds on the one before it. This game was designed specifically for smartphone VR headsets such as Google Cardboard and Durovis Dive. Placing the player in the center of the action allowed them to explore the puzzles without experiencing motion sickness while requiring them to look in all directions to find the solutions. Failure to complete the puzzle within a limited time resulted in them falling into a hellish pit before trying again.

Room One – look at stationary objects to select them before the timer runs out.

Room Two – objects are moving in a simple pattern.

Room Three – look at objects to grab them. Then drag them into the holes by moving your head.

Room Four – look at the flashlight to pick it up. Then shine it at the alien heads.

Looks Can Kill

This is an Oculus Rift game done at the 2013 Full Indie game jam in Vancouver. You are a secret agent strapped to a hospital bed, rolling down a San-Francisco-esque street with a laser strapped to your head. You use your head to target enemies and obstacles and blow them up. Not nearly as vomit inducing as we thought it would be!

We loved the idea of playing this game while actually strapped down to a table lying on your back. Even though the player was moving quickly through the streets, we found that most people didn’t get nauseous while playing. This may have been due to the body being fooled by the premise of being strapped down. Overall the game was pretty fun to play and a lot of fun to make.

This was a collaborative project with Eric Raue, Daniel Truong and Andrew Hamilton.